Kids Cooking

About six weeks ago, I realized that Jacob needed a goal. He's doing remote schooling and it got really hard after winter break. He needed to feel good at something. And based on the way he was doctoring the pierogies he was making for lunch, he had some innate talent around cooking. Those pierogies were banging. 

First, I did what I always do: I texted my mom and sisters. Then I started looking for kids cooking classes. Due to the pandemic, though, everything is shut down for the time-being. Uncle Matt to the rescue! My brother-in-law is the best cook any of us have met. He makes burgers that rival anything you'd pay for in a restaurant. Our mom requests his ribs. Even his grilled cheese is elevated (he uses garlic powder). 

I encouraged Jacob to reach out to his uncle for dinner ideas. And they delivered. They sent Jacob a recipe for hamburger egg rolls and he did such an amazing job making them. They were perfection. And the best part was that he did not ask for my help once. It was so cool to see how excited he was to plate the food and watch our reactions. He did a thing that I notice people who love to cook do: with each bite he took, he would mention an improvement he'll make next time, but also would say something about what he liked. 

His confidence soared. 

And because the other two saw how delicious and cool it was, they wanted to cook too. So the following Tuesday, Emma made tiktok pasta. It was wonderful! And then Justin, courtesy of Uncle Matt, made fish tacos (with fish sticks...right up our alley). They were so happy to be contributing and proud of their efforts. 

I'm noticing too that the kids are so much more willing to try new things when their sibling makes it. Who knew??? Uncle Matt, apparently. 

I also ordered a new cookbook, in the hopes of us all being inspired and getting new ideas. Lo and behold, the cheeseburger egg roll recipe is in there, so that bodes well for our family's taste! 

Moving forward, I think we'll do Tuesday nights as a Kids-Make-Dinner night. I can see it building their confidence, making them feel like they're really contributing to the family in a meaningful way. And giving me one night when I don't have to hear "Chicken? Again?"